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The role of women in ancient warfare differed from culture to culture. There have been various historical accounts of females participating in battle. This article lists instances of women recorded as participating in ancient warfare, from the beginning of written records to approximately 500 CE.
- Artemisia I, 5th Century BC
- Trung Trac and Trung Nhi, 1st Century Ad
- Zenobia, 3rd Century
- Umm ’Umara, 7th Century
- Matilda of Canossa, 1046–1115
- Eleanor of Aquitaine, 1122–1204
- Tomoe Gozen, Ca. 1157–1247
- Joan of Arc, 1412–1431
- Lakshmi Bai, Ca. 1834–1858
- The Agojie of Dahomey, Ca. 17th–19th Centuries
Queen of Halicarnassus (in modern Turkey) within the Persian Empire, Artemisia commanded five ships under Xerxesduring his invasion of Greece in 480 BC. Impressed by her bravery and skill, the ruler said: “My men have turned into women, my women into men.”
When Chinese occupiers killed Trung Trac’s husband, a petty nobleman in Vietnam, she and sister Nhi raised an army—including many women generals—and drove out the Chinese. Hundreds of years later, their story inspired the thousands of women fighters of the Vietnam War.
She became ruler of the Roman colony of Palmyra (in present-day Syria) after the assassination of her husband, a prince and general. Rebelling against the Roman overlords, she seized Egypt and much of Asia Minor, commanding troops from horseback. Rome soon captured the renegade queen, who remained in Rome until her death.
A devout Arab Muslim, she joined her husband and two sons to fight alongside Muhammad in several of the prophet’s early battles in what is now Saudi Arabia. “I never looked to the right nor to the left without seeing Umm ’Umara fighting to defend me,” he said after one battle.
A noble who inherited power and vast lands in northern Italy following the death of her mother and stepfather in 1076, Matilda became a staunch military ally of Pope Gregory VII and his successors in conflicts with European rulers over church appointments. In 1087, she led an army that marched on Rome to oust a rival installed as an antipope by th...
Wife of French king Louis VII, Eleanor rode on the Second Crusade as the leader of the forces from her home province. Though she did not directly command forces, she participated in military councils and reportedly clashed with her husband.
The 12th-century epic Tale of the Heike describes Tomoe Gozen as a samurai so skillful with “the sword and bow that she was a match for a thousand warriors.”
The famous French patriot claimed divine inspiration. She was only 17 when she raised and inspired an army that in 1429 relieved the city of Orléansfrom an English siege during the Hundred Years’ War. She commanded troops for more than a year before her capture, after which she was burned at the stake.
As the widowed ruler of the Jhansi principality in India, she assembled and led an army that fought British annexation—the Sepoy Rebellion of 1857–1858. Shot and killed, she became a symbol of independence for the country—“the best and the bravest of the rebel leaders,” according to a British officer.
Dubbed “Amazons” by European colonizers, this band of elite female warriors from present-day Beninare the real-life basis for the Hollywood film “The Woman King” and the Dora Milaje of Marvel’s “Black Panther” franchise. The Agojie were 6,000 strong at their peak, attacking at night and taking the heads of enemies as trophies.
- Drew Lindsay
Since 2018, all British Army combat roles have been open to female soldiers. However, the history of women's service in the Army stretches much further back in time.
Sep 14, 2021 · Here are 10 of history’s fiercest female warriors who not only had to face their enemies, but also the strict gender roles of their day. 1. Fu Hao (d. c. 1200 BC) Lady Fu Hao was one of the 60 wives of Emperor Wu Ding of ancient China’s Shang Dynasty. She broke with tradition by serving as both a high priestess and military general.
- Tristan Hughes
- 59 sec
- ARTEMISIA I OF CARIA. Named after the Goddess of the Hunt (Artemis), Artemisia was the 5th century BCE Queen of Halicarnassus, a kingdom that exists in modern-day Turkey.
- JOAN OF ARC. Not just a legendary female warrior but also a Roman Catholic saint, Joan was but a girl when visions of the Archangel Michael drove her to approach the military of France's King Charles VII and offer to assist in his efforts to expel the occupying English in the later days of the Hundred Years' War.
- TRIỆU THỊ TRINH. Though described as the "Vietnamese Joan of Arc," Triệu Thị Trinh predated the French heroine by more than 1200 years. At 20 years old, Triệu (a.k.a.
- NAKANO TAKEKO. One of the only known onna-bugeisha (female samurais) in Japan's history, Takeko was educated in literary and martial arts before distinguishing herself in the Boshin War, a Japanese civil war that lasted from January 3 1868 to May 18, 1869.
From the land girls of WWII that kept the home fires burning and ammunitions factories churning, to the front-line nurses of the Crimean war: women have subverted the stereotypical expectations and stepped into roles that would have previously been considered unsuitable.
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Jun 29, 2023 · Fighting in sieges, an army of crack female troops, cross-dressing as male soldiers: women have survived and thrived as part of the war machine. But they’re rarely included in military...
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